Now you see her Now you don't
by rougegal
Summary: We all know Rogue was adopted by Mystique at the age of four but who actually gave birth to her? Why was she in Care? This is the untold story. BDW, this is just an interpretation, so please be kind as I am just beginning my career in fan fiction! ;
1. Chapter 1

It was a typical day in Coldecott, Mississippi. A young woman disembarked from the school bus, clutching her stomach. It had been playing up for the last couple of days. She couldn't talk to anyone about it. For one thing, Robbie had blown her off in the Cafeteria last week and was often seen playing tonsil hockey with Jenny, head Cheerleader and all around slut around the school campus.

There was no way she could go home. Her mother would most probably be sleeping off last night's party and as for her father, the less said about him, the better.

The pains were getting worse, nearly crippling her.

"You alrayht sugah?" Blue eyes met her liquid amber.

"Yah, ah'm fayne."

"Mebbe you need somewhere to rest, yah bones. Mah home's near, you wanna see it. "

She pushed herself out of his embrace and took off down the street. She went into a nearby alley and hid behind a dumpster. Her breath was shallow, her heart pounding at a thousand beats an hour. No-one approached her. She was about ready to move away when a pain so intense crept up her stomach. A dampness unknown to her also appeared.

A heaviness in the regions of her stomach was taking control over her body. An instinct that would occur many times for many women told her that she must get this thing out.

She lay in a mixture of blood, sweat and tears. It was over. She looked at the tiny thing that lay at the base of her legs. A baby. She sank back in disbelief. No-one had told her what was happening to her body. Then again, why would they? She was an outsider. Apart from Robbie, who had only wanted a few quickies before moving onto the next thing with breasts, she was ignored. Not even her parents took the trouble to acknowledge her.

Her eyes opened in disbelief. She was now a mother! Someone was depending on her, a little girl. She slid her body over and removing her sweater, wrapped the baby in it and cradled it to her chest. The eyes were a blue so deep they were almost purple. Her tufts of hair were a reddish brown. Her skin as soft and pure as a petal.

Her whole body throbbed with pain and her eyes were droopy.

'If ah just close m'eyes for a second', she thought to herself, 'ah'll be fayne!'

But the second never ended.

It was late and the baby was growing cold. The woman who had brought her into the world was too clingy. She had to break free. Her whimpers became more high-pitched and frequent. They echoed throughout the alley. Just as she was about to give up, footsteps pounded towards the still figure of the new mother. They drew back in horror to see the dead figure clutching a new born babe, still covered in the birthing remnants. They found they were drawn to the eyes, so intense for such a little one. Yet beautiful at the same time and full of promise for the future.

In the aftermath of the discovery, as the baby was handed into the care of a social worker, no-one noticed a woman with illuminous eyes. The woman decided that now was not the time to be involved. For now, she would be content to watch and wait...


	2. Chapter 2

Hey all, as you can see, I've decided to join the masses of X-Men Evolution Fanatics! Can you tell which is my fave character? You guessed it... Kitty Pryde aka Shadowcat... only joking ;)

So I was writing this piece for a creative writing project and decided that with a few tweaks, it would be perfect for a Rogue POV. However, I'm a beginner so let me know any words of wisdom, s'il vous plait. I would be mucho grateful!

Mystique's POV

Of all the things to contend with, ruthless social workers came pretty low on my list of priorities, Mystique thought, glaring at the Matron of Coldecott Orphanage.

"Yes, Mrs Darkholme, I appreciate that you are a prime candidate for Anna-Marie, its just that..."

"Ms."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Its Ms Darkholme, and granted."

"Yes, yes, I apologise Mrs, Ms Darkholme, I'm just making sure that you realise what you are letting yourself in for?"

"Are you implying that as a single woman I cannot handle a child?"

"Why no, of course not, its just..."

"Need I remind you that there are a vast percentage of single mothers out there you cope daily, without the kind interference, I mean help from those such as you?"

"Please ma'am it is nothing to do with your current status. Oh my, how do I put this? Anna is a difficult child. She spends most of her time alone and shows no inclination of social interaction."

"So, she likes her own company. Is that such a crime?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Mystique noticed the matron's hands were not quite steady. She smiled inwardly. I love having this effect on people.

"Perhaps it would be best if I saw the child, see if she's as, pausing deliberately, difficult as you would have me believe."

The Matron nodded her head slightly and rose from her seat. Walking across the room to open the door, there stood a small girl with auburn hair, the palest skin you had ever seen and the deepest blue eyes. Mystique found that she had temporarily forgot to breathe. The child was beautiful. But then logic returned. The most deadly and dangerous things in life had pretty packaging.

The Matron was leading her towards the woman in the chair. Anna was showing open reluctance to approach another potential disappointment. Matron cleared her throat.

"Anna, dear, this is Ms Darkholme. She's been longing to meet you."

Blue eyes met deep brown. One in disbelief, the other in mild boredom. Anna glared at her briefly, before her eyes caught sight of the third woman, sitting in the corner of the room, on Matron's brown leather sofa. Feeling the scrutiny, she held out her hand to the child and Anna wandered over to her.

"Please, forgive me, Anna, this is Irene, a friend of Ms Darkholme."

"Come sit with me, little one."

Matron held her breath, Anna had never been good at doing as she was told, even if it was a gentle command. To her surprise, the child went and sat across from Irene. Mystique allowed herself a small smirk of satisfaction.

"What were you saying about her being a difficult child?"

The spell was broken and Anna's face was wiped clean of the interest in the woman with glasses and a cane.

She backed away from the others and ran out the room. The other children made way for her. It was always entertaining seeing the staff chase after such a little child. Then again, you never could tell what she would do. Last time she had been in a tantrum, plates and glasses went flying around the kitchen, escaping from Anna's grasp. This time however, she had managed to get to the end of the street before large hands grabbed her round the middle and lifted her in the air. She was dragged kicking and screaming to the back of the house where her bedroom was located, the furthest from the others. They threw her in and drew the bolt across. But not before she managed to give one of her captors a bloody nose.

The Matron was very apologetic that the women had seen Anna in one of her states.

"Surely now, you can understand our position..."

"The way I see it is it is you that are unfit to take care of her. It makes me wonder whether you are qualified for this job."

The Matron was outraged at this. So much so that she could hardly speak.

It was a while before Anna's cries had settled to a more reasonable tone. She heard footsteps and then the bolt was drawn across. The door crept open slowly to reveal the women with the glasses. Without a word, she made her way towards Anna and held out her hand. Anna reluctantly took it and Irene brought her back to the room. In her absence, the papers had been signed. Anna-Marie had been adopted and was now Raven Darkholme's daughter.

'At last', Mystique smiled triumphantly, 'she's all mine.'

For the time being, she would live with Irene. When the time was right, her training would begin in earnest. Until then, she would be Irene's problem...


	3. Chapter 3

Hola y Bonjour – mucho apologies for the lengthy delay! The only excuse I have for this is that I'd forgotten that I started this Fan fiction. It wasn't until recently that I read my piece all over again, and was disgusted. So much for Rogue being blue eyed. So now I have to think of a plausible way for her eyes to change colour... any suggestions?

So, the last time we met, Anna-Marie had just been adopted by Irene aka Destiny and Raven aka Mystique. Since then, Anna has been given the chance for a better life. In fact, here she is, exactly two years later, a sweet six year old...

Focus on Irene's home in down town Mississippi. She is in the garden, sitting on her bench. Anna is lounging in a tree, looking out towards her home. Its her favourite spot.

"Anna, dear, its late. Time to come in."

"Please Irene, can't I stay out a lil' longer?"

"Just five more minutes then. I don't want you to be tired for school"

"Do I have to go?"

"Anna, we've been over this. I'm not going to do so again"

Anna sighed, it was always the same. All people did was boss her around. Anna, come here. Do this, don't eat that!

'Well ah'm sick of it.'

It's at that moment that Irene calls for Anna to come in. She contemplates staying out, then feels guilty for the thought.

'Irene's been so good to me, even if she does boss me around'

The next morning, Anna's not feeling half so charitable. It's a school day and Madame teacher is in a foul mood.

"Ah won't have any shouting out, made up claims or answering back, class. That goes for you too Miss Anna. Anna, you listening to meh? Anna, Anna"

Someone nudges Anna's elbow, bringing her back to the class and the fuming teacher

"Well, now that we are all paying attention, I think it's time for a spelling test. And y'all can thank Anna later."

There were groans and mutterings as Madame started to read aloud from her list. The day didn't get better. By lunchtime, Anna had had enough. Instead of getting in line for food, she continued to the edge of the playground and the school gates. Just as she reached there, she became aware of Madame shouting from the windows and the others were cheering.

"Anna-Marie, don't you dare move..."

The temptation was too much, so she shimmied up and over the gates, landing delicately on the balls of her feet.

'Phew, guess those ballet lessons are working.'

At the time, she had snorted at Irene's insistence that she take up ballet. The only reason Irene gave her was that it would limber her up. She took off running, down the road.

Meanwhile, Irene jolted up from her snooze and instantly reached for her phone.

"Raven, she's on the move. Yes, I saw the news. Downtown. I don't know. Yes, I'm on my way but if... I don't know. If you get there first please don't be too fierce with her. She's my daughter too."


	4. Becoming Rogue

**AN: Aloha, remember me? What's it been, a few years? I hope this satisfies you. I can't say when I'll next update but, enjoy anyway.**

Anna finally halted when she was miles from the school. There was no chance that they would catch her now!

She stepped into an alleyway where exhausted, her legs collapsed and she drifted off...

XxX

She woke to the sounds of someone running in her direction. She looked up from her perch behind the dustbin and saw someone who looked more animal than man run towards her. Her legs were stretched out in front of her and the man narrowly missed flying across the floor. He caught her eye and galloped toward her, picking her up by the scruff of her t-shirt.

"Watch it twerp."

She struggled in his hold. "Ah'm sorry."

He dragged her face closer to his. "You better be."

"Sabertooth. Now."

With a snarl, the man dropped the girl to the floor. He followed his companion and she was left to wonder what had happened.

Meanwhile, clear across town, a young man and his father were working on a job. The boy was used to his father using him. This particular job would see to it that he didn't have to do this anymore. He would be free to live his own life.

Whatever that would bring.

It was simple really. His father wasn't much one for imagination. It was supposed to be a snatch and grab job.

What could go wrong?

The Vault that was the target of the man's attention held the majority of its users' cash. If breached, it would self destruct and the money, in its shock proof containers would be protected. The boy's gifts would create the necessary diversion, leaving the father to snatch the prize.

XxX

Anna had tried to make it home as it was now getting quite late. Irene would be worried. This caused a pang of concern and her judgement of the right direction was effected. The roads she had crossed had led her clear across town into the vicinity of the bank where Jean-Luc and his son were staging their latest job.

Remy had snuck passed the guards using a fresh stack of cards. This allowed Jean-Luc to come round the back-way and slip in undetected. Well, at least not by anyone that mattered. Anna saw it all from her perch but didn't say anything.

The man seemed agitated. The boy had gotten into the vault but wasn't aware that the unidentified figure had set off a silent alarm connected to the police station. The cops were already on their way and it wouldn't be long before the men were apprehended.

To cover up his mistake, he set a delayed device, giving him and his father enough time to break free before...

Anna was thrown from her perch as the blast echoed throughout the building. She landed among the rubble, her face catching the majority of the blast.

It was there amongst the rubble that the man called Sabertooth found her. His companion appeared through the smoke.

"What do you want to do?"

"Leave her. She's of no use to us."

The explosion had caused a rally of fire engines. The police arrived to close the area off, along with a certain Ms Darkholme.

Mere moments ago, Irene had seen the explosion and sent her friend the warning.

"Let me through."

"Lady, it's not safe. Now get out of here"

Mystique scowled at the man but backed away. In the confusion, she went round all the rubble and through the smoke to find two familiar faces.

"Ah, Mystique, such a pleasure to see you."

"Enough of that Eric. I haven't the time for pleasantries."

Sabertooth grinned and assessed the woman before him. "Well, well, look what the cat dragged in."

She snarled.

Sabertooth turned his body towards her, showing the bundle in his arms. "Is this yours?"

"Yes."

"I wouldn't have said you were the mothering type."

"Yes well, things change."

"Not you Mystique. What is so special about the girl?"

"Nothing that concerns you."

"Oh, but you see everything about you concerns me."

"How flattering."

"You're not to be trusted. Now tell us why she's so important to you."

"Or what?"

"Or you'll find that you are once again childless."

She paused. "Very well. Destiny has seen that this child will be very useful to us in the future. That's all I know."

"In that case, maybe I should take her."

"No! I saw her first. Besides, she knows Destiny. Let her continue to stay with Destiny and then when the right time comes, you can have her for your little club."

"I warn you Mystique. Do not defy me. You can keep your little pet for now but I will return for her. You mark my words."

With that, he and his companion were gone, leaving Mystique to transport the unconscious figure back to Irene's.

XxX

The explosion had damaged most of the girl's skin and it would be a long time before she would be able to walk again. The skin would need time to re-grow and the child would be kept in a comatose state to limit the pain.

In time, the ladies would find that the explosion had triggered another change. Nothing too extreme by comparison. Anna's once blue eyes were now a metallic green that pierced anyone that came to contact with her.

XxX

Gradually as Anna began to recover, they decided that it would be better to home school her. She was given the best tuition that money could buy. As she grew stronger, he body was put through rehabilitation in the form of exercise.

The explosion had permanently damaged the girl. She was now more introverted, sullen. The name Anna Marie was no longer appropriate.

Instead, she became Rogue.


End file.
